Kong Armor™ Deck Restoration & Rescue Painters launch Mondo Brand 316 Stainless Steel Decking Screws to Eliminate Deck Rot for their Lifetime Deck Armor Systems
What Causes Most Deck Rot in Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky – Southeast Indiana?
When you exclusively restore and armor encapsulate decks in Lifetime Deck Armor. Stay with those decks and their owners locally for life via Warranty, Service, Support. You can start to see the patterns that negatively affect decks.
Deck Rot in most all cases in the Tristate area is caused by pressure treated decking lumber’s cellular reaction to rusty steel screws or nails.
At Kong Armor™ we call this reaction Rust-to-Rot!
Deck Rot contributed to Rust-to-Rot is widespread in the local area. And throughout the Midwest United States. Our estimation is that 6 in 10 wood deck systems over the age of two years are affected. These decks are impacted in some way by rust to rot. Especially wood decks that are poorly protected in thin deck paints/stains that allow water intrusion.
What is Rust-to-Rot in decks?
It is a complicated subject. Scientific and long winded. To make it short and simple, it is an incompatibility problem between pressure treated decking lumber and steel fasteners. This incompatibility has developed over the last approx. 20 years. Due to new Pressure Treatment formulas in Decking Lumber. It has always been there to a degree. But its more pronounced now. It occurs faster.
It involves the rust of steel decking screws activating the metal mineral content in wood. This metal content in wood has no physical form or property. It’s throughout the wood in its cells. Just as a human has minerals in its cells. Or any Creature does. Wood does too. When that mineral content oxidizes and wants to rust. It causes the cells of the wood to basically turn soft, discolored and begin to rot away.
The Result is Sporadic rotten boards. Which is normal for wood decking. But, with the new pressure treated decking lumber. Like mentioned above. It is occurring earlier and more frequently in the life cycle of wood decking.
For those of you that have a wood deck at home with areas of rot. Go look at where it is located. You will find that it is almost always confined to an area where a screw or nail is present. Dig into that rot and usually you will find a rusty nail, screw, bolt.
Rust to Rot is Decking Rot, whether it be a rotten board, joist, spindle, etc. It makes no difference. Caused by incompatibility between the wood and steel fastener. Common areas are anywhere a nail, or screw is entered into the wood. So where decking boards are connected to joists. Where Spindles are connected to rails. Anywhere two pieces of lumber come together and are connected by steel.
How Do we solve the Problem?
By Superior Fastener Choice. Moving away from reactive fasteners that rust. We must incorporate non-reactive fasteners that do not rust! This ends the issue. The reaction never takes place.
Everyone in mass has been sticking the wrong grade of steel into the New Pressure Treated Decking Lumber. It must be High-Grade Stainless Steel or High-Grade Galvanized. Softer Non-Reactive Fasteners like aluminum nails etc are excluded for not being strong enough. It has to be Stainless or Galvanized they are the only one with the rust prevention plus strength to fasten.
Kong Armor™ has been using Stainless Steel in all of its Repairs and Deck Component Rebuilds i.e. Stairs, Rails, Floors etc. For the past 3 years with exceptional Success at Rust to Rot Prevention. Our Repairs and Rebuilds with 316 Stainless and Encapsulated in Kong Armor ™ the World’s Toughest Deck Armor. With True Water-Lock capabilities. They are not taking on Rust-to-Rot. Furthermore, research shows that feedback from those who have used 316 Stainless for longer periods confirms this. It is very rare for 316 Stainless to react and cause Rust-to-Rot.
This is Huge! It means we can positively change the course of Tristate Decks that we Restore and Protect. And make huge gains in lowering life of ownership deck repair and maintenance costs for our system owners.
We bring forth “Mondo 316 Stainless Steel Decking Screws
Though we have been using 316 Stainless Steel for a few years now. Thanks to a partnership acquired from a major Supplier of Bulk 316 Grade Stainless Steel Screw Shafts. Kong Armor ™ and its Deck Restoration Painters will introduce our own Branded 316 Stainless Steel Decking Screw. It will be Maximum Rust-to-Rot Resistant. “Mondo” will be the name of the New Decking Screw Brand. Exclusively available through Kong Armor ™ Projects. For our customers only starting in 2026.
Our New Lifetime Deck Armor System Owners coming aboard in 2026. If their projects include Deck Restoration/ Repair/Rebuild. They will get the correct Decking Screw. A proper fastener that Eradicates future board rot caused by rust and corrosion. For the areas restored/repaired/rebuilt.
Our Existing Lifetime Deck Armor System owners. Who we stay with for life via Service, Warranty, Support locally. They will win as we start eliminating their decks Rust-to-Rot when, and if, it appears. If they experience a rotten plank from Rust-to-Rot instead of throwing any old deck screw or nail in the replacement. We can insert the proper ones that prevent it from happening again.
Additionally, Kong Armor ™ will begin efforts to stop Rust-to-Rot in the wood decking segment via information and education. To the general public and professionals in the wood decking industry. Deck builders, and other deck restoration and resurfacing professionals. We care about the health and longevity of the wood decking segment. Currently it is not getting the correct fasteners for the source materials being used. Largely Builders and other tradesman are unaware of this. We have to change this trend. Or else the wood decking market will continue to decline.
So, a step in the right direction. Innovation, Problem Solving! Fighting for our customers. Delivering a powerful new feature to the repair and restoration segment of our Projects.
Keeping Decks healthy and protected for life. That’s our mission here at Kong Armor ™ Lifetime Deck Armor.
We will continue to bring forth innovation in our Deck Armor Coating, Our Deck Restoration and Armor Encapsulation Process. For our System owners in any way possible as challenges arise to fulfill our Mission. Mondo 316 Stainless Steel Decking Screws is our latest answer. It will not be the last.
